We're English 10 Nerds and Loving It: April 11, 2014

2. Watching The Truman Show
3. Finishing your notes by adding the following...

a. Take a look at your character descriptions. Which minor character (any character besides Truman) was the most important to Truman's heroic journey and why?b. Take a look at your symbols/motifs. Which object carried the most symbolic weight and why? What does it symbolize to Truman? To Cristoff? How did its meaning shift a little throughout the film?c. Reread your questions. Pick two questions that seem important to understanding the film as a whole and respond to them thoroughly.d. Examine the connections you made to Fahrenheit 451. Which one is the most revealing/intriguing/important? Type a few sentences in which you really explore and expand upon this connection; be as specific as possible.

HW:
1. Work on your book talk.

2. Before Monday, please respond to the following statement:

Cristoff asserts in an interview that "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." Do you agree with him? Is our world like Truman's? In other words, is our reality manufactured or fictionalized in a way, as Truman's is? Are we passive recipients in or creative architects of our own reality?

44 comments:

For most people that statement is true. Most people are too cowardly to defy the system even if it is corrupt, and assume that their current way of life is the only way of life. It is only when certain imaginative and intellectual people start to ask questions about their way of life which causes others to question it as well, which is what makes these people so important. Many of us, like Truman, believe that there is something greater destined for us and that we can and will do great, brave, adventurous things; yet many of us lack the courage and dedication to follow through with those passions.

I agree with Cristoff when he Says "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." because we wouldn't know what was normal and what wasn't supposed to be there and then once we see the 'other' world then we wouldn't be able to accept it as a reality. I believe we are recipients of our own reality because just like Truman we would have no idea that our reality wasn't real

Yes we do because we are all living in this world and thats what we are born into. There is no escape from the world we are in today. We are all living in this world right now, and will continue to until the day we die.

I agree with Cristoff when he says "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." I agree with him because we just accept who we are, and we accept the world that we live in. We don't think about how our world could be manufactured in any way just like Truman's world. We wouldn't be able to accept that our world is different.

I agree with what Cristoff says because every accepts that they are in there own world doing there own thing, what ever they want. There is no finding a way to get a way from the world that we live in today. The world is more realistic than Truman's world because in Truman's world the people around him revolve around him and not there own selves, but in our world people only care about themselves rather than you.

I agree with Cristoff because if our lives were like Truman's then we wouldn't know what real life is like on the outside. If I were Truman I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I would be mad at the whole world because it was messed up what happened to him. The courage it takes to change society is a lot. But when you know that your society isn't right, then you should do something about it.

Sometimes our world is like Thurman’s because we live in our own little world’s because sometimes basically we create our own reality. Really it depends on how a person really is and they can be both passive recipients and creative architects of their own reality.

I agree with what Cristoff says because people learn to deal with the society they are given. Our world is not like Truman's because people are more independent. Reality can change constantly in our world and its fictionalized like Truman's world.

I agree with Cristoff's statement. The ideas and people that we are surrounded by are constantly influencing us and that is what we see as reality. If I was in a world like Truman, having only the knowledge that he has, I wouldn't second guess any of it. Reality is based on what we know, and what our world is capable of.

I agree strongly with Cristoff's statement. We don't question anything in our world until someone gives us a reason to. When we were kids, we always asked why something was the way it was, and when someone told us why we just assume that it's true. I believe that our reality is fictionalized in a way, because lots of things are kept secret from people or they are a stretch of the truth. I think we are for the most part passive recipients in our own reality, because we, like Truman, accept our reality as it is presented to us.

I agree with this quote because if someone famous for being smart came up with something out of the blue, most people would believe that. For example, if the news says something like "a new species of purple panthers found in the Amazon by Steve Spangler." And even include a photoshopped picture, most people would probably feel inclined to believe it.

I agree with Cristof's statement because we learn to develop appreciation and accept what we think we deserve. When we are put into a situation we develop skills to accept it and figure out ways to deal with that situation we are put in. Truman was put into this fictional world for his entire life, not knowing he was put into this situation. Because he didn't know right from wrong or fiction from real, he was able to accept his life for what it was. We all expect the best from people and aren't really quick to assume the worst, so Truman was just living his life the way he was supposed to.

I agree with the statement depending on the person, because there are people who refuse to except the world as it is. A majority of the people just go with the flow and don't try to argue with what they are presented with. I believe that has more people branch out and try to tell people there is more to the world then you see then, slowly very slowly the world may change into a different perspective. The Truman Show demonstrates just how dull and how bright we can be. We can ignore the signs about the world around us or we can notice them and point them out hoping someone else with be on your side. The sad part of reality is that we are blind and stay in this comfortable place even if it seems utterly wrong because we see what we are told to see.

During Cristoff's interview he states, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." I agree with his statement. Like Fahrenheit 451, everyone expects houses to be on fire and people burning books. I think to Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, when The Joker says, "Nobody panics when things go "according to plan." Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it's all "part of the plan". But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds!" There was a plan in The Truman Show. Although Truman didn't know about it,Truman lost his mind, compared to all the actors, because he was finding the truth. We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented, because we don't know any other world. We thrive on drama and crave for adventure. For example: school shootings and violence are happening more and more frequently in our generation. It's shocking. No one tells anyone that they are going to corrupt a school or a city, that's what freaks everybody out.So the bottom line is; if there is no plan, and then violence happens and everyone is afraid. But when there is a plan, like The Truman Show, everyone is normal. They expect what was said tot them. Like us.

In an interview Cristoff claims that as humans "we accept the reality of the world with which we are presented". I completely agree with Cristoff. From a young age we are taught to accept life for what it is and to be thankful for the life we live. I do think our society is manufactured in the sense that we confrom to what society is doing because we fear the repercussions of sticking out from the rest of humanity. We fear being different. We allow ourselves to fall into a routine of being similar to the people around us to the point that we hardly even notice were doing it.

I think that our would is 'made' for us as infants, but as we grow up, we start to break down those walls in that world world and start creating our own world. I agree that we accept it as kids, but when you start having control over your life, you rebel against society and start building a world you are more comfortable in.

I strongly agree with Christoff's statement, because you wouldn't know anything different than the way you already have been living. We are born into this world and a specific society. Within that society we are trying constantly trying to fit in and reach "normality", but in a sense there is no such thing as normal. We all have a patriotic like to our own way of living and think that your way is the best, so why question it?

I agree with Cristoff, we do accept the reality of the world in which we are presented. We are presented with different things such as knowledge, religion, and values. From a young age we are shown a certain reality, and we believe every world of it since we have not yet learned to question anything. Our reality is manufactured, we let others create our worlds and how we view them. Most people are passive recipients , blindly letting their reality be made for them. There are others who refuse to accept the reality they have been handed, this results in people who are like Truman and Montag.

I agree with with Cristoff's words because they are very true. How would we know any different from the reality we are loving in? We wouldn't. All we know is how we are living, not knowing if there is a more realistic way of life. I believe that are world is similar to Truman's because we believe everything that is put in front of us. For example, when something is said in the media or on the news we believe it even though we don't know much about it. Our reality is manufactured by society not wanting to believe what is actually real. Reality isn't real.

I do agree with Cristoff's statement, because we don't question our world or society. We believe what's on the news, or what the government tells us. We don't wonder if we're living in a fantasy world, because we're told that we're not. We trust our family, friends, and those around us, just like Truman did. He never questioned his life, or his world, and we don't really either. Now, I don't think our society is anything like Truman's, but we may live in the dark about some things in our society. But, we never really question anything, because whatever we're presented with, we assume is the truth.

Personally, I agree with Christof's statement, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." We as humans constantly set mental barriers for ourselves, no we don't live in a dome in a manufactured world, but we set mental barriers that trap us in our reality. We have the ability to achieve great things, and many people do, but it takes the courage to venture beyond our reality. Many famous people have done this, escaped the ordinary to achieve greatness, the main one that comes to mind for me is Abraham Lincoln, in a time when everyone was criticizing everyone, he only complimented people and it allowed him to unite the country and win the civil war. In this way, I agree with Christof's statement, but not fully because people have escaped their so called "reality" and many people in the future will. We are only passive recipients in our creative architects of our own reality if we choose to be. We could easily chose to do escape our reality.

"We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." Personally I think this statement is true, our world tends to think this way. Now I'm not sure it's how we should think. We always need to keeping asking questions and wanting to learning. I believe Truman is a prime example of this. Truman never stops to find out the truth, he keeps pushing one. Now I would say our reality is real to us, just like how Truman's life was real to him. So I think in our would we need to stop and ask some more questions. Is every thing really the way we think it is? Or is it different? We will never know unless we dare to look for answers, instead of accepting reality.

I would agree with Cristoff"s statement because we do accept what we see and are told. Most people don't go around assuming everyone around them is an actor or we're in some controlled world, Matrix style. But we also think about our reality, like the big questions about life and our universe, at some point in our lives. We accept the reality we are shown but are free to question it, try to think beyond and if you believe that there is something out there, like Truman, are free to pursue it.

Most people's actions do agree with Christoff's statement because they believe there is no other option but to accept the reality of the world. However, there have been many influential people throughout our history who have not accepted reality and changed the world for the better. One example is Martin Luther King Jr.. He did not accept a world where every man was not equal. He took a stand and changed the course of history. This is one factor that differs our world from Truman's world. People have a choice to write outside of the lines, and in our society, that is what they do.

I do agree with Christoff on this quote. We accept this reality because we have grown up in it and it is normal to us. If we grew up in a different society then that society would be normal for us. I also think our peers/parents affect us too because they grew up mostly the same way we are growing up now with the exception of technology. I think we are creative architects of our future because we can do basically whatever we want. If you want to be a doctor you can be a doctor or if you want to invent something you can invent something. I think we form our own future.

I agree with Christoff because "we accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." And I think this because like in Fahrenheit 451 the government has so much control and say on what we do and how we live. I feel like we don't always get to do what we want or make our own decisions like Truman. There seems to always be someone in a higher position with more power then you. And they usually try to use that power to control us and control what we do, say and the way we think.

I do agree with Christoff when he says, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." I agree with him because this is all we know to be true then we are going to accept it, but if this is not all we know then we are definatly not going to accept it. So if this is all we know then to us it is a reality then it is what we accept. I think out world is maunfactured to an extent like things we may tell people to protect or certain things we do to fit in. We are all manfacturing ourselves to a certain extent. I do not think that our world is manufactured the way Truman's is. I think we are creative architects of our own reality. We get to decided what we believe and what we do not believe we also get decided what does or does not happen to us.

I agree with Cristoff's statement that people accept the reality presented to them. Most of us are passive recipients of societal norms, beliefs, and laws. Similar to the people in Fahrenheit 451, the majority of the human race conforms to the reality they are shown, with only a few individuals that go out of their way to alter it. The Truman Show is a reflection of the real world, where Truman represents the minority that defies the norm, and everyone else on the show represents the majority that conforms.

The majority of this world agree with Christoff when he says, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented."Because most people are too ignorant to change the world for the better. There are many examples of people who defy this quote, and those people are some of the most famous people in history. But the average human being is usually inclined to go with the flow.

I agree with what hes says because in a way our world is the only one that we know of and we know so much about what is around us that it is hard for us to accept things we don't know or seem to far fetched. Our world is a lot like Truman's, because we have become very ignorant and do not accept things easily. Much like Truman learning to accept that his world was completely different than he realized, our world would probably react the same way after learning something like that. There are some people who are open minded and are creative architects, however, more of us are passive recipients.

I agree with Cristoff because it makes you think about it for a second and figure out its true when he says, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." When we are born and while we grow up, we immediately adapt to the environment around us. For example, Truman adapted to the perfect and repeating daily life he had his whole life. He didn't have any knowledge about the outside world because everyone around him never mentioned it. I can't imagine not knowing about the world and thinking that the only place is his city. That is so weird to think about. We all accept the world we live in because we think it is the only way you can live life.

I think we do accept the reality that is given to us, it is only when we realize that we can make our own reality, that we help change ours and other's realities. In Fahrenheit, Montag lived life ordinarily, but it was only when Clarisse showed him that the world has more to offer, did he help himself and others realize that books give you a new reality. We experience this everyday, People invent new things and philosophies to help our reality to become broader, without this we our world would be like a movie on replay.

I agree with Cristoff when he says '"We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.' because we don't know what is real and what isn't real because we believe what we were taught to believe I mean how is it possible to know if everything is the way we think it is.

I would agree with Cristoffs statement because even though everyone has the choice in whether or not they see the world in any specific way, it is easier to fall into societal norms and the opinion that is pushed upon us the hardest. For example, in Fahrenheit 451 the society pushes out books on their own and eventually believe that books are bad for them. By doing so, they are simply accepting the reality of the world in which they are presented and not trying to push the norms out of the way. In the news, the world is seen as a place full of disaster yet this in not always the case. Most people do not look in further and just listen to what they are being fed therefore also just accepting the world they are given. Especially in a place like the United States, people are given the right to think and act freely, yet in the media, ethos, logos and pathos are used to control how we perceive something and change our minds about such subjects.

I agree with Cristoff's statement of, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." because as we, as inhabitants of this world, we grow up and adapt to our surroundings. When something is put in our life, we learn to adjust to it. For Truman, he didn't know what was right and what was wrong so he just adapted to it because that's what he thought he should do. I do think that our world is like Truman's because there is always that greater power over us that we have to learn and adjust to. We are recipients of our lives, we just receive what we get and adjust to it.

I agree with Cristoff's statement of, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." This is because we as humans seem to establish walls in our own minds. We do what is asked of us and in most cases don't ask any questions about what we are doing. This is the lifestyle that humans have come to know, and in many cases it is the exact same lifestyle as Truman; predictable.

If you notice Truman is wearing a Captain's uniform. I feel that is saying Truman is the Captain of his own life. He is Captain of his own actions and the world the revolves around him. When he is sailing he looses his Captains hat, and than his coat, and than he's just wearing normal clothing. He is a normal person now, and he chose that and he knew that as he was sailing. We are all the Captain of our own lives, but we don't need a show to know that.

I agree with Cristoff. We except the world we live in. We dont do what we are told. We dont stop and do what we feel is correct. We all do this as humans. It apart of the society we live in. This in many ways the same as the world as Truman lives in. He goes day to day just excepting how his life is. That is until he figures out that he isnt happy.

No, our world isn't like Trumans. Everyone isn't in on it to make me believe this world is fake. However, because of the way our world is, it does define who we are. I gaurentee if AHS was in the middle of nowhere, we would all be different than we are now. Who we surround ourselves with changes who we are, how we handle things, how we act. I know someone very kind but as soon as she's with her friends she turns into a selfish butt. No names. But everything we do changes who we are.

We accept the reality that we feel we deserve. We let the world take us on a path, but we try to make our own path. But Truman was never allowed to make his own path. Truman is hoping to get this freedom in the most fantastical way he can. I think we are passive in ways, but we try to make changes. With the opportunities we are given, we make our own path, but Truman's reality was created to make his life as easy as possible.

I do agree with Christof's words,We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented." In our society today we have grown to accept the way our world works. We are influenced by the media we see on the internet and on television. When we get into the routines of our day to day lives, like Truman we get so caught up in our own world and how we are living.

I do agree because in life we are just told what is right and wrong and we spend our entire live shaving different ideas of what is normal and acceptable in our culture and if we do not fit the standards that society has set on us then we are weird or unacceptable to be around. In some ways I believe that our world is manufactured and fictionalized, we see magazines and Tv ads telling us what we should look like and how we should act, then there is also the entire idea of fake friends. That if you have money or status then you are more likely to have someone fake liking you simply to promote their own image.

I agree with Cristoff. If one is thrust into an environment at a young age, then they will only know that environment. If they expand their vision to other things and move on to other lands, then they will eventually learn new things.